Government Revises Obesity-Related Death
Figures

In a study published last March in the Journal of the
American Medical Association, the government said that
obesity-related deaths per year climbed by 100,000 between
1990 and 2000 to reach an annual figure of 400,000. The
study had put tobacco-related deaths at 435,000 annually,
and said that obesity might soon overtake tobacco as the
major cause of death in America.

In its corrections, published in the latest issue of the
Journal
, revised figures pinned the increase at 65,000, a
significant drop from the original 100,000 figure. The
study was conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC).

“Integrity is a core value of CDC, and the integrity of
our science must be protected,” CDC Director Julie
Gerberding said in a statement. “We are improving our
internal scientific review processes, including moving
toward the adoption of electronic review processes.”

The agency still feels that obesity is a major cause of
death in America, and is still increasing, however. “The
combination of diet, physical inactivity and tobacco are
all leading causes of death, causing far more than a
majority of total deaths in this country in the year 2000,”
said Donna Stroup, acting director for the CDC’s
coordinating center for health promotion, according to the
Journal’s Web site. “Regardless of the controversy, it’s
clear to people these are the three underlying causes of
death most important to the country.”